The goals of the Mongol invaders according to European sources of the middle of the XIII century. Part 1

Cover Page

Cite item

Abstract

The middle of the XIII century - the apogee of power of the unified Mongol Empire. In 1241-1242, the first, bloodiest and most destructive Mongol invasion into Europe took place. Certainly, it was vital for the Europeans to find an answer to the question: what did the invaders want, what goals did they pursue? In this article, the author shows that, due to the abundance of contradictory information and the acute lack of an objective understanding of the new enemy at first, European political and ecclesiastical figures attributed many goals to the Mongols (at least eighteen!), of which only three were fully confirmed - an attack on Russia, Poland, and Hungary, and the rest were either not realized for some reason, or arose in minds of the Europeans themselves. All these “goals”, identified in various official and unofficial European sources, mainly dating from the middle of the XIII century, are discussed here taking into account information from synchronous Eastern sources. Despite well-known ideas of a “world-building monarchy”, perhaps actually hatched by the Mongol khans, events in Europe suggest that their main goal there was to punish the Hungarian king Bela IV, who refused to hand over the Polovtsians hiding in Hungary to the Mongols.

About the authors

Yuliy I. Drobyshev

Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences

Author for correspondence.
Email: altanus@mail.ru

PhD in History, senior researcher of the Department of the History of East

12 Rozhdestvenka str., Moscow, Russia, 107031

References

  1. Ollsen TT. Prelyudiya k zapadnym pohodam: mongol’skie voennye operacii v Volgo-Ural’skom regione v 1217–1237 godah [Prelude to Western campaigns: Mongol military operations in the Volga-Ural region in 1217–1237]. Stepi Evropy v epohu srednevekov’ya. T. 6: Zolotoordynskoe vremya [Steppes of Europe in the Middle Ages. Vol. 6: The Golden Horde time]. Donetsk: Izdatel’stvo DonNU, 2008. P. 351–362 (in Russian).
  2. Mayorov AV. Zavershayushchij etap zapadnogo pohoda mongolov: voennaya sila i tajnaya diplomatiya [The final stage of the Western campaign of the Mongols: military power and secret diplomacy]. Zolotoordynskoe obozrenie [The Golden Horde Review]. 2015; (1). P. 68–94 (in Russian).
  3. Mayorov AV. Zavershayushchij etap zapadnogo pohoda mongolov: voennaya sila i tajnaya diplomatiya [The final stage of the Western campaign of the Mongols: military power and secret diplomacy]. Zolotoordynskoe obozrenie [The Golden Horde Review]. 2015; (2). P. 21–50 (in Russian).
  4. Hautala RV. zemlyah «Severnoj Tartarii»: Svedeniya latinskih istochnikov o Zolotoj Orde v pravlenie hana Uzbeka (1313–1341) [In the lands of "Northern Tartary": Information from Latin sources about the Golden Horde in the reign of Khan Uzbek (1313–1341)]. Kazan’: Institut istorii im. Sh. Mardzhani AN RT, 2019 (in Russian).
  5. Rashid al-Din. Sbornik letopisej [Collection of Chronicles]. Vol. I. Book 1. Tr. by. LA. Khetagurov. Moscow; Leningrad: AN SSSR publ., 1952 (in Russian).
  6. Kniga Marko Polo [The book of Marco Polo]. Puteshestviya v vostochnye strany [Travels to Eastern countries]. Moscow: Mysl’ publ., 1997. P. 190–380 (in Russian).
  7. Kozin S.A. Sokrovennoe skazanie. Mongol’skaya hronika 1240 g. [The Secret History. Mongolian Chronicle of 1240]. Moscow; Leningrad: Izdatel’stvo AN SSSR, 1941 (in Russian).
  8. Riazanovsky VA. Mongol’skoe pravo (preimushchestvenno obychnoe). Istoricheskij ocherk [Mongolian law (mainly customary). Historical essay]. Harbin: Tipografiya NE. Chinareva, 1931 (in Russian).
  9. Yurchenko AG. Istoricheskaya geografiya politicheskogo mifa. Obraz Chingis-hana v mirovoj literature XIII–XV vv. [Historical geography of the political myth. The image of Genghis Khan in the world literature of the XIII-XV centuries]. St. Petersburg: Evraziya publ., 2006 (in Russian).
  10. Hristianskij mir i «Velikaya Mongol’skaya imperiya». Materialy franciskanskoj missii 1245 goda. «Istoriya Tartar» brata C. de Bridia [The Christian World and the “Great Mongol Empire”. Materials of the Franciscan mission of 1245. “The History of Tartary” by Brother C. de Bridia] Critic. text, trans. by SV. Aksenov and AG. Yurchenko. Exposure, research, and index by AG. Yurchenko. St. Petersburg: Evraziya, 2002 (in Russian).
  11. Jean de Joinville. Kniga blagochestivyh rechenij i dobryh deyanij nashego svyatogo korolya Lyudovika [The Book of Pious speeches and good deeds of our holy King Louis].Tr. by G.F. Tsybulko. Saint Petersburg: Evraziya publ., 2007 (in Russian).
  12. Matuzova VI. Anglijskie srednevekovye istochniki IX–XIII vv. Teksty, perevod, kommentarij [English medieval sources of the IX–XIII centuries. Texts, translation, commentary]. Moscow: Nauka publ., 1979 (in Russian).
  13. Hautala R. Ot «Davida, tsarya Indij» do «Nenavistnogo plebsa satany». Antologiya rannih latinskih svedenij o tataro-mongolah [From “David, King of the Indies” to “The Hated Plebs of Satan”. An anthology of early Latin information about the Tatar-Mongols]. Kazan’: Institut istorii im. Sh. Mardzhani AN RT, 2015 (in Russian).
  14. Vinsent iz Bove. Velikoe zertsalo [Great Mirror]. Kniga stranstvij [Book of wanderings]. Tr. by N. Gorelov. St. Petersburg: Azbuka-klassika publ., 2006. P. 79–116 (in Russian).
  15. Biran M. Chinggis Khan. Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 2007.
  16. Maiorov AV. They Intend to Come and Attack Rome…: The Real and Sacred Spaces of the Mongol Conquests (in print).
  17. Jackson P. The Mongols and the West, 1221–1410. London; New York: Routledge, 2014.
  18. Foma Splitskij. Istoriya arhiepiskopov Salony i Splita [History of the Archbishops of Salona and Split]. Tr. by OA Akimova. Moscow: Indrik, 1997 (in Russian).
  19. Hautala R. Ot Batu do Dzhanibeka: voennye konflikty Ulusa Dzhuchi s Pol’shej i Vengriej [From Batu to Janibek: military conflicts of the Ulus of Jochi with Poland and Hungary]. Zolotoordynskoe obozrenie [The Golden Horde Review]. 2016; V. 4; (2). P. 272–313 (in Russian).
  20. Hautala R. Ot Batu do Dzhanibeka: voennye konflikty Ulusa Dzhuchi s Pol’shej i Vengriej [From Batu to Janibek: military conflicts of the Ulus of Jochi with Poland and Hungary]. Zolotoordynskoe obozrenie [The Golden Horde Review]. 2016. 4; (3). P. 485–528 (in Russian).
  21. Rogers GS. An Examination of Historians’ Explanations for the Mongol Withdrawal from East Central Europe. East European Quarterly, 1996. Vol. 30; (1). P. 3–26.
  22. Pow LS. Deep Ditches and Well-built Walls: A Reappraisal of the Mongol Withdrawal from Europe in 1242. A thesis submitted to the faculty of graduate studies in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts. Calgary, 2012.
  23. Tizengauzen VG. Sbornik materialov, otnosyashchihsya k istorii Zolotoj Ordy [Collection of materials related to the history of the Golden Horde]. Vol. II. Moscow; Leningrad: Izdatel’stvo AN SSSR, 1941 (in Russian).
  24. Pochekaev RYu. Batyj. Han, kotoryj ne byl hanom [Baty. The khan, who was not a khan]. Moscow: AST publ., 2006 (in Russian).
  25. Khrapachevsky RP. K voprosu o tak nazyvaemom «spiske pokorennyh narodov» Vostochnoj Evropy v «Sokrovennom skazanii mongolov» (1240 g.) [On the question of the so-called “List of conquered peoples” of Eastern Europe in the “Secret History of the Mongols” (1240)]. Studia Historica Europae Orientalis. 2013; (6). P. 91–102 (in Russian).
  26. Rajt JK. Geograficheskie predstavleniya v epohu krestovyh pohodov: Issledovanie srednevekovoj nauki i tradicii v Zapadnoj Evrope [Geographical representations in the Era of the Crusades: A study of Medieval science and tradition in Western Europe]. Tr. by MA Kabanov. M.: Nauka, 1988 (in Russian).
  27. Plano Carpini. Istoriya mongalov [History of the Mongols]. Puteshestviya v vostochnye strany [Travel to Eastern countries]. Moscow: Mysl’ publ., 1997. P. 29–85 (in Russian).
  28. Guzman G. The Encyclopedist Vincent of Beauvais and His Mongol Extracts from John of Plano Carpini and Simon of Saint-Quentin. Speculum. 1974. Vol. 49. (2). Р. 287–307.
  29. Savchenko SV. Pis’mo magistra tamplierov k Lyudoviku Sv. o vtorzhenii tatar v Zapadnuyu Evropu [A Letter of the Master of the Templars to St. Louis on the invasion of the Tatars into Western Europe]. Kievskie universitetskie izvestiya [Kiev University News]. 1919. (1–4). P. 1–4 (in Russian).
  30. Magistr Rogerij. Gorestnaya pesn’ o razorenii Vengerskogo korolevstva tatarami [Lament about the destruction of the Hungarian kingdom by the Tatars]. Tr. by AS Dosaev. St. Petersburg: Dmitrij Bulanin, 2012 (in Russian).
  31. Rykin PO. Sozdanie mongol’skoj identichnosti: termin «mongol» v epohu Chingiskhana [Creation of the Mongolian identity: the term “Mongol” in the era of Genghis Khan]. Vestnik Evrazii [Bulletin of Eurasia]. 2002. 1(16). P. 48–85 (in Russian).
  32. Drobyshev YuI. Mongol’skaya imperskaya ideologiya: ponyatijnyj apparat issledovaniya [Mongolian Imperial ideology: conceptual framework of the study]. Kochevye imperii Evrazii v svete arheologicheskih i mezhdisciplinarnyh issledovanij: Sbornik nauchnyh statej IV mezhdunarodnogo kongressa srednevekovoj arheologii evrazijskih stepej, posvyashchennogo 100-letiyu rossijskoj akademicheskoj arheologii (Ulan-Ude, 16–21 sentyabrya 2019 g.) [Nomadic Empires of Eurasia in the light of archaeological and interdisciplinary investigations: Proceedings of the IV International Congress on the Medieval Archaeology of the steppes, dedicated to 100 years Russian Archeology (Ulan-Ude, September 16–21, 2019). Book 2. Ed. by B.V. Bazarov, NN Kradin. Ulan-Ude: Izdatel’stvo BNTs SO RAN, 2019. P. 28–31 (in Russian).
  33. Lupprian K.-E. Die Beziehungen der Päpste zu islamischen und mongolischen Herrschern im 13 Jahrhundert anhand ihres Briefwechsels. Città del Vaticano, 1981.
  34. Ruotsala A. Europeans and Mongols in the Middle of the Thirteenth Century: Encountering the Other. Helsinki: The Finnish Academy of Science and Letters, 2001.
  35. Guillaume de Rubruk. Puteshestvie v vostochnye strany [Travel to the Eastern countries]. Puteshestviya v vostochnye strany [Travels to the Eastern countries]. Moscow: Mysl’, 1997. P. 86–189 (in Russian).
  36. Somer T. Forging the Past: Facts and Myths behind the Mongol Invasion of Moravia in 1241. The Golden Horde Review. 2018. Vol. 6. (2). Р. 238–251.
  37. Sophoulis Р. The Mongol Invasion of Croatia and Serbia in 1242. Fragmenta Hellenoslavica. 2015. Vol. 2. Р. 251–277.
  38. Meyvaert P. An Unknown Letter of Hulagu, Il-Khan of Persia, to King Louis IX of France. Viator. 1980. Vol. 2. Р. 245–261.
  39. Gajton. Cvetnik istorij stran Vostoka [Flower garden of stories of the East]. Kniga stranstvij [Book of travels]. Tr. by N Gorelov. St. Petersburg: Azbuka-klassika, 2006. P. 211–274 (in Russian).
  40. Genrih Latvijskij. Hronika Livonii [Chronicle of Livonia]. Tr. by SA. Anninskiy. Moscow; Leningrad: Izdatel’stvo AN SSSR, 1938 (in Russian).
  41. Maiorov AV. The first Mongol Invasion of Europe: Goals and Results (in print).
  42. Kargalov VV. Mongolo-tatarskoe nashestvie na Rus’. XIII vek [Mongol-Tatar invasion of Russia. XIII century]. Moscow: Prosveshchenie publ., 1966 (in Russian).
  43. Velikaya hronika o Pol’she, Rusi i ih sosedyah XI–XIII vv. [The Great Chronicle on Poland, Russia and their neighbors of the XI–XIII centuries]. Ed. by VL. Yanina. Moscow: Izdatel’stvo MGU, 1987 (in Russian).
  44. Rady M. The Mongol Invasion of Hungary. Mediaeval World, 1991. Vol. 3. Р. 39–46.
  45. Polnoe sobranie russkih letopisej. T. 2. Ipat’evskaya letopis’ [The complete collection of Russian chronicles. Vol. 2. Hypatian chronicle]. St. Petersburg: Tipografiya MA. Aleksandrova, 1908 (in Old Russian).
  46. Rashid al-Din. Sbornik letopisej [Collection of Chronicles]. Vol. III. Tr. by. AK. Arends. Moscow; Leningrad: Izdatel’stvo AN SSSR, 1952 (in Russian).
  47. Richard J. The Mongols and the Franks. Journal of Asian History, 1969. Vol. 3. (1). Р. 45–57.
  48. Nikolov A. Obraz tataro-mongolov Zolotoj Ordy i il’hanov v sochineniyah propagandistov krestovyh pohodov (konets XIII – nachalo XIV vv.) [The image of the Tatar-Mongols of the Golden Horde and the Ilkhans in the writings of propagandists of the Crusades (late XIII – early XIV centuries). Zolotoordynskoe obozrenie [The Golden Horde Review]. 2015. No. 4. P. 14–28 (in Russian).
  49. Mej T. Mongoly i mirovye religii v XIII veke [Mongols and World religions in the XIII century]. Mongol’skaya imperiya i kochevoj mir [The Mongolian Empire and Nomadic world]. Ulan-Ude: Izdatel’stvo BNTs SO RAN, 2004. P. 424–443 (in Russian).
  50. Guzman G. Simon of Saint-Quentin and the Dominican Mission to the Mongol Baiju: A Reappraisal. Speculum, 1971. Vol. 46. No. 2. Р. 232–249.
  51. Salimbene de Adam. Hronika [Chronika]. Tr. by I.S. Kultysheva. Moscow: ROSSPEN, 2004 (in Russian).
  52. DeWeese D. The Influence of the Mongols on the Religious Consciousness of Thirteenth Century Europe. Mongolian Studies. Bloomington, 1978–1979. Vol. 5. Р. 41–78.
  53. Grant BC. The Mongol Invasions between Epistolography and Prophecy: the Case of the Letter “Ad Flagellum”, c. 1235/36-1338. Traditio. 2018. Vol. 73. Р. 117–177.
  54. Yurasov M. Vospriyatie vengrami mongolo-tatar vo vremya pohodov ord Batu v Evropu [Perception by Hungarians of the Mongol-Tatars during the campaigns of Batu Hordes to Europe]. Al’manah po istorii Srednih vekov i rannego Novogo vremeni [Almanac on the history of the Middle Ages and Early Modern times]. Nizhnij Novgorod, 2011. Issue 2. P. 51–69 (in Russian).
  55. Kniga stranstvij [The Book of wanderings]. St. Petersburg: Azbuka-klassika, 2006 (in Russian).
  56. Al’bert Shtadenskij. Annaly [Annals]. Tr. by IV. D’yakonov. Moscow: Russkaya panorama, 2020 (in Russian).
  57. Munkuev NTs. Kitajskij istochnik o pervyh mongol’skih hanah [Chinese source about the first Mongol khans]. Moscow: Nauka, 1965 (in Russian).
  58. Drobyshev YuI., Yurchenko AG. «Zapovedniki smerti» Mongol’skoj imperii [“Death Reserves” of the Mongolian Empire]. Sibirskij sbornik-1: Pogrebal’nyj obryad narodov Sibiri i sopredel’nyh territorij [Siberian collection-1: The funeral rite of the peoples of Siberia and adjacent territories]. Book 2. Ed. by LG. Pavlinskaya. St. Petersburg: MAE RAN, 2009. P. 160–169 (in Russian).
  59. Puteshestviya v vostochnye strany [Travels to Eastern countries]. Moscow, 1997 (in Russian).
  60. Armyanskie istochniki o mongolah [Armenian sources about the Mongols]. Tr. AG. Galstyan. Moscow: Vostochnaya literatura publ., 1962 (in Russian).
  61. Bezzola GA. Die Mongolen in abendländischer Sicht (1220–1270): ein Bei-trag zur Frage der Volkerbegegnungen. Bern, 1974.
  62. Klopprogge A. Ursprung und Auspragung des abendländischen Mongolen-bildes im 13. Jahrhundert: ein Versuch zur Ideengeschichte des Mittelalters. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, 1993.
  63. Schmieder F. Europa und die Fremden: die Mongolen im Urteil des Abendlandes vom 13. bis in das 15. Jahrhundert. Sigmaringen: Thorbecke, 1994.
  64. Mayorov AV. K voprosu ob istoricheskoj osnove i istochnikah «Povesti o ubienii Batyya» [To the question on the historical basis and sources of “The tale on the murder of Batu]. Srednevekovaya Rus’. Vypusk 11. Problemy politicheskoj istorii i istochnikovedeniya [Medieval Rus’. Vol. 11. Problems of political history and source studies]. Ed. by AA. Gorskiy. Moscow: Indrik, 2014. P. 105–147 (in Russian).
  65. Laszlovszky J., Pow S., Romhányi BF., Ferenczi L., Pinke Z. Contextualizing the Mongol Invasion of Hungary in 1241–42: Short- and Long-Term Perspectives. Hungarian Historical Review, 2018. Vol. 7. (3). Р. 419–450.
  66. Kamalov IH. Otnosheniya Zolotoj Ordy s Bolgarskim knyazhestvom [Relations of the Golden Horde with the Bulgarian Principality]. Zolotoordynskaya civilizaciya [The Golden Horde civilization]. 2011. Issue 4. P. 35–39 (in Russian).
  67. Uzelats A. Serbskie pis’mennye istochniki o tatarah i Zolotoj orde (pervaya polovina XIV v.) [Serbian written sources about the Tatars and the Golden Horde (the first half of the XIV century)]. Zolotoordynskoe obozrenie [The Golden Horde Review]. 2014. (1). P. 101–118 (in Russian).
  68. Uzelats A. Pod senkom psa: Tatari i јuzhnoslovenske zemle u drugoј polovini XIII veka [Under the shadow of a dog: Tatars and South Slavic lands in the second half of the XIII century]. Beograd: Utopiјa, 2015 (in Serbian).
  69. Drobyshev YuI. Kyrgyzy v Central’noj Azii (IX v.) [Kyrgyzs in Inner Asia (IX century)]. Vostok (Oriens). 2010. No. 6. P. 102–109 (in Russian).

Copyright (c) 2021 Drobyshev Y.I.

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

This website uses cookies

You consent to our cookies if you continue to use our website.

About Cookies